Jimmie Stevens: 2021 Race Results
Jimmie Stevens has compiled one of the most unlikely success seasons in modern Extravaganza history. From 18th in points one year ago, Speedy has amassed an average finish of 12th (good enough for top-3 in points in most seasons), and has climbed his way to fourth in the standings. This is the highest points rank that Speedy has encountered during his ten year career. In 15 races, he has accumulated 8 top-10 finishes despite only qualifying in the top-10 once (10th at Charlotte). There are four multiple-time winners behind him in points, and has turned himself into a serious contender for the Championship. Here is a breif history of how Jimmie "Speedy" Stevens got to where he is today.
Many years ago, James Parker grew tired of the conformity of high school. He started playing the new Extravaganza video game "King Joe's Beat the Heat", and was immediately hooked. He started watching Extravaganza races on the old MoSport cable channel, and quickly took an interest in their boat racing series. He soon quit high school and traveled to the Russian Kolyama Lowlands in search for his passion. He learned the ins and outs of drag boat racing in the Indugirka River, and moved back to the United States with a new identity. He would change his last name to "Stevens" in honor of Steven "Shrimp" Spangler, his favorite legend driver in the Beat the Heat video game.
Stevens stationed himself in New Orleans to learn more about boat racing. He was a mechanic in Beck Hillman's drag boat crew as a teenager, and remained there for over a year. Beck would continuously tell him "the real money is in asphalt", and the words eventually fell through. He moved to Ponoma, California in late 2006 and never looked back. Stevens miraculously won seven races in his only two drag racing seasons at the top level, becoming the youngest winner in the sports history.
In 2009 he drove for former drag racer Dean Bonanski's Busch Bonzana team in the #2 Heineken ford. Bonanski drove the famous "Baconator" funny car during the 1990's, and developed a locked-in goal to inherit drag racing talent onto the oval ranks. Stevens finished 16th and 11th in points during his only two seasons before the team shut down due to lack of funding.
Stevens made a hole-shot decision and bought out the Bonanski team with his drag racing earnings and full support from the Heinekin beer company. With Miller aboard Walt Flowers and Budweiser in a lifetime contract with Joe Dawkins, it was finally time for a new beer brand to steal the spotlight. He would jump to Extravaganza as an owner-driver with Heineken providing full sponsorship and engine support from the renowned W.A.S.P. Motorsports.
Unbelievably, Stevens beat NSRA Racing and Busch Bonanza Champion Zach Michael for the rookie of the year in 2012, finishing 10th in points and looked to be Extravaganza's next superstar. He finish 9th in points the next season, before the bottom started to fall through. Without teammate support, his results dwindled over the next few seasons and Heineken left the organization.
The greatest asset for Stevens was his marketability. He was coined "Speedy" for his drag racing prowess, and used the term to market himself for years. Kevin Corbat and Auto Value decided to buy out his independent team in 2016, scooping up Tony Long the next season. During the last three years, Stevens has finished a disappointing 19th, 18th and 18th in the standings. It appeared this would be the trend-setter for the rest of his career, but 2021 has proven to be the lightning bolt Speedy needs to re-gain his Championship confidence.
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